


Could Dean Still Be In Hell?

by TalkMagically



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Meta Essay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 14:56:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16894728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkMagically/pseuds/TalkMagically
Summary: This is an old meta post I made on Tumblr way back when season 9 was airing. It no longer fits the show as it currently is, but it does stimulate some ideas for fanfic and fanart.





	Could Dean Still Be In Hell?

How do we know that Dean hasn’t been in Hell since the end of Season 3, “living” through an illusion projected into his mind by Alastair?

Alastair is an expert torturer. He would know all the ins and outs of how to get someone to do what he wants. What better way to get Dean to agree to torture souls than to make him think he’s back at the family business of hunting things? Each death of a supernatural creature is a successfully obliterated soul, with each major antagonist from Season 4 to Season 9 being a significant person in Dean’s life that Alastair wanted him to “confront.”

 **SEASON 4** : The antagonist for this season is Lilith/Ruby. We’re dealing with a lot of manipulation from both Lilith and Ruby to get the boys to do what they want, which was kill Lilith and open Lucifer’s Cage. Now put this through the lens of an illusion. Who do we know pre-Hell that manipulated the boys to get what they wanted? Bela Talbot. We already know that Bela entered Hell before Dean. She’d be an immediate choice for Alastair.

 **SEASON 5** : All through this season, Dean and Sam are dealing with Michael and Lucifer trying to get their consent for possession. Why? Because of the Apocalypse. God preordained it to happen, and the Archangels are following what their heavenly father has planned for them. Who do we know pre-Hell that followed the Laws of God and believed in following what has been preordained? Pastor Jim. Pastor Jim was a significant person in Dean’s life growing up, and his death in Season 1 surely caused an empty space that Dean could never fill. Alastair would want those lingering emotions extinguished.

 **SEASON 6** : In this season, we’re dealing with Eve and Cas. Both exhibit different forms of a kindred spirit. Eve with her desire to protect her family. Cas with his endless series of mistakes, all in the best intentions, that blew up in his face at the end. Eve and Cas both helped and harmed the boys. Who is the primary kindred spirit that was introduced way back in Season 1? Bobby Singer. Regardless of how Bobby ended up in Hell, Alastair would want the get rid of any lingering connection between Dean and Bobby. Having a Kindred Spirit nearby could make things difficult because Dean could latch onto the positive memories between the two of them and break free of Alastair’s grip.

 **SEASON 7** : The Leviathan are all over the place in this season, making things extremely difficult for the boys. The Leviathan seem to know every possible move the boys could make, every possible option the boys would consider, and this made them extremely dangerous to Dean and Sam. There is only one significant person in Dean’s life that is both seemingly all-knowing and dangerous to his well-being. Ellen Harvelle. Her no-nonsense attitude and endless wealth of knowledge through the hunter network makes her a good-side equivalent of the Leviathan. Her reach to anyone in the hunter network was potentially endless.

 **SEASON 8** : Metatron is our focus for this season. God’s Scribe, he had a bone to pick with the Archangels and made things deeply personal for his entire family for various reasons. There is one primary person Metatron could represent in Dean’s mind: John. John Winchester “scribed” his journal, which is considered the “Holy Book of Hunting” to Dean. Dean references John’s journal multiple times over the seasons. Include John’s obsessive desire to keep Dean and Sam safe, his vendetta against Azazel, which would make things personal for the entire Winchester family, and a dose of extremism from Alastair to make Dean hate him, and John’s been made into a perfect parallel for Metatron in Alastair’s illusion.

 **SEASON 9** : Last and certainly not least, we’ve got Abaddon in this season. During her entire mission to take over Hell, she has a weird fascination with Dean and causing him unique levels of pain. On multiple occasions we see her make things uncomfortable for him. This reeks of something personal. Some kind of personal hatred for Dean is being released. Now, pre-Hell, there’s one person that immediately comes to mind who had repressed their hatred when dealing with Dean: Jo Harvelle. It is no secret that part of Jo wanted to blame Dean and Sam for what happened to her father. She wanted to take her anger out on them. She repressed that, however, and moved on. Having been sent to Hell, however, her hatred would have made her easily twisted by Hell. Her desire to take her pain out on Dean would have been released, giving Alastair the opportunity to create a parallel between her and Abaddon.

Every major antagonist since Dean went to Hell has a parallel with someone who held some kind of significance in Dean’s life, whether it be good or bad. Making Dean believe these people were someone else via an illusion and cause Dean to do harm to them all led to the end of Season 9, where Dean finally turns into a demon.

What about Sam, you ask? Sam is Cain, in all his glory. Cain is a facilitator in Season 9. He gives Dean the Mark, which later causes Dean to become a demon. Dean went to Hell to save Sam, making Dean’s loyalty to Sam the facilitator in his eventual downward spiral into becoming a demon. It would be in Alastair’s best interest to have that represented in the illusion to layer on the guilt of doing something as extreme as making a demon deal - making his decision to take on the Mark of Cain the parallel.

This would certainly explain every plot hole since the end of Season 3. Alastair has no need for consistency when Dean has been steadily making his way towards becoming a demon.


End file.
